Powerless performance for Springfield Falcons

SPRINGFIELD - The lights were still on and the scoreboard was functioning, but there was still a power outage Sunday at the MassMutual Center.

The Springfield Falcons and Manchester Monarchs combined for 14 power plays, yet neither team was able to convert.

Gabe Gauthier scored the go-ahead goal with two minutes, 23 seconds left in the third period to give the Monarchs - who were 0 for 9 with a man advantage - a 2-1 American Hockey League victory before 2,595 fans.

After entering the weekend 3-1-1-0 in their previous five games, the Falcons (19-34-7-2) have now lost three in a row.

"You can sometimes get away with not concentrating when it's five-on-five," said Falcons forward Geoff Paukovich, who scored a short-handed goal in the first period. "But when you're down a guy, you have to be sharp every time you're on the ice because you have certain assignments. If you blow an assignment when you're five-on-four, they're going to put it in the back of the net."

The Falcons' penalty kill unit entered the game 27th in the 29-team AHL but certainly earned its money against the Monarchs. It also helps to have Devan Dubnyk in goal, making several of his 27 saves during man-down situations.

"He's been stellar all year, and he's given the team a chance to win games," Springfield coach Rob Daum said.

Less than five minutes into the game, it looked like the Falcons had shaken off the sting of Saturday's 7-3 loss at Worcester. Colin McDonald forced a turnover along the boards and pushed it up to Paukovich, who had a relatively clear lane up the right side in a 2-on-1.

Paukovich eluded Manchester defenseman Alec Martinez and stuffed the puck under Jonathan Bernier's pads for an early 1-0 lead. Springfield's Bryan Young was in the penalty box at the time for elbowing.

"When I got over the blue line, I saw their defenseman cheat on Mac a little bit," Paukovich said. "I had some speed, so I just took the puck to the net and tried to stuff it in."

Manchester (29-26-0-6) evened the score 3:27 into the second period when David Meckler went high to Dubnyk's glove side for his 13th goal of the season. Meckler then made a nice cross-ice pass to Gauthier, who was parked at the left goalpost, for the winning goal.

These two teams meet again Wednesday at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. The Monarchs, who are tied with the Lowell Devils for the fourth and final Atlantic Division playoff spot, now hold a 3-4-0-0 edge in the season series.

The Falcons, who have played 12 games since Daum took over as coach on Feb. 11, will take Monday off before a rare practice Tuesday.

"We haven't had a lot of practice time since I've been here, maybe two or three total in 21 days," Daum said. "We were making some progress with our game, and the last couple of nights, it's dropped off a little bit. Even one practice will get us a chance to touch on some things we need to touch on and get us ready for Wednesday."

NEST NOTES: The Falcons received good news on the recall front, as the Edmonton Oilers returned defenseman Theo Peckham to the team. Peckham, who was recalled to the parent club on Feb. 13, did not arrive in time to be in uniform but should play Wednesday at Manchester. The move was made when the Oilers activated defenseman Denis Grebeshkov from injured reserve. 